Most would say that these changes are long overdue, while others will be sadenned to see their favourite weapons toned down, but Bungie are preparing for another round of weapon rebalancing in time for The Taken King’s release in September, at which point Destiny will jump to version 2.0.
Most notably the Gjallerhorn – one of the most desired guns in the game – and Thorn are set to be toned down, as a result of their over-prevalence and use in PvE and PvP modes respectively, but this is a rebalancing that will cover the entire spectrum of weapons, as detailed by Sandbox Designer Jon Weisnewski.
Auto rifles will see a higher base damage and a boost during PvE play, to help restore their use after they were a target in a previous rebalancing patch, but the deadly PvP combo of hand cannon and shotgun is being toned down. Hand cannons seem to be getting punished with reduced long range capabilities and reduced clips, while range-based perks on shotguns are also being reduced in their effect. The Final Round perk on sniper rifles will now only affect precision damage, no longer making it a one hit kill anywhere on the body in PvP.
But some of these changes will be most keenly felt with the exotic weapons, which are being adjusted individually. The Last Word will have its range reduced, Thorn’s damage over time effect is being lessened, Hawkmoon’s abilities no longer stack, so that it can’t get a single hit kill in PvP.
Of course, the Gjallerhorn is being adjusted so that the Wolfpack Rounds do less damage, hoping to make it less integral to playing the game in PvE. As Weinewski writes:
If Destiny had a nuke it would be the “Ballerhorn.” We definitely intended to have a high damage Heavy Weapon that was ideal for PvE destruction. What we did not intend, and what we unfortunately saw, was pick up Raid and Nightfall groups gating participation based on whether or not players had this weapon. Gjallarhorn was so strong that for many people it had become the only answer to getting through tough encounters, and therefore they were less willing to spend time with other players that didn’t have it.
We strive for Destiny to be a place where a single weapon or strategy does not dictate how, or with whom, you spend your time. In the new world Gjallarhorn is still worthy of its legacy as an exotic Heavy Weapon, but we hope it promotes inclusive behavior rather than exclusivity.
For the finer details on what’s being altered, I suggest you head over to Jon Weisnewski’s news post on Bungie.net. It’s actually a quite fascinating read, both from a game design perspective and for those still invested in Destiny’s changes.
Source: Bungie.net
Tony Cawley
There’s a lot of moaning about this on the bungie forums but as far as I’m concerned they’ve nailed this, addressing all of the issues that bother not just me but the community as a whole.
Of course I’m yet to see how it will all play out, but by the sounds of it all, these changes are all for the good.
Forrest_01
Myself & Geofduke were discussing this just the other day – Whilst I do love my Gjallarhorn, it shouldn’t be the be-all end-all that it is right now. We were talking more around buffing other rockets & especially machine guns (as people are going to be more vocal over a nerf to their most favoured weapon), but I suppose the more sensible option is actually to nerf the one rocket launcher rather than buff pretty much everything else.
Overall though, I can’t say that any of those changes are particularly surprising.
fillip2k
I feel the same way as Tony, Thorn was really a thorn in my side (haha see what I did there) during the IB there were times when every playlist was just full of people blatting away with Thorn and as someone who doesn’t have any of the “killer” exotics it made life hell…
I’m all for them big a bit better, other why have an exotic class, but they are just way too over powered.
Super excited about Hardlight getting a buff though. I’ve been a stalwart user of that since it dropped for me in the first POE, much to the hilarity of the people i play with…
Matthijs
Too bad about the range cut on “The Last Word”. It barely makes it as is in the prison. Other than that leveling it seems like a good idea especially for pvp.